Brought Up That Way
by saysay586
Summary: Jace is the protective dad of Emily and always seems to be able to solve her problems. But what happens when there's a problem he can't solve. Based off of Taylor Swift's "Brought Up That Way". Songfic. OC. Mild swearing.


**Brought Up That Way **

**This oneshot/songfic is based on the song "Brought Up That Way" by Taylor Swift. **

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own "The Mortal Instruments" series by Cassandra Clare or "Brought Up That Way" by Taylor Swift.**

* * *

_In ten years…_

At 3:27 in the afternoon, I finally sit down after a day of hard work. It's tough having a full time job, being a single father, and fighting demons but my life has always been crazy.

I hear the door open up and close and hear small, quick footsteps coming towards the living room. Then I see my baby girl, my daughter come running from around the corner, her red curls flying everywhere. She jumps right onto my lap, snuggles into me and grabs my hand.

Now I know what you're thinking, that "Since when is the infamous Shadowhunter, Jace Herondale, so sweet and caring?" Well Emily is the center of my life now, ever since… the incident. I couldn't bear to lose her too.

She unfurls from me for a second and I notice her eyes are red and swollen from crying.

"Baby girl, what's wrong with you?" I ask her.

"Please don't make me go back there again!" she sniffles.

I coax Emily to tell what happened that made her never want to back to school again. By the end of explanation, I am completely furious. How dare any of those mundanes mess with my Shadowhunter daughter.

"I wish there was some way to make them stop it." Emily says and a brilliant idea forms in my head. "C'mon, Em" I tell her. "You're gonna visit Grandma and Grandpa's for a couple of minutes while I do something."

I drop off Emily at Luke and Jocelyn's house. I know it's hard for them because every time they see Emily, they see her. But they still love Em to death.

After dropping her off, I drive to the Elementary School she goes to and go down to where the principal's office is.

I wait in the lobby for a bit then the secretary comes to talk to me.

"So what can I help you with?" She says flirtatiously. I just roll my eyes. Even now women are flinging themselves at me even though I am not interested.

"I just want to speak to the principal" I say, irritated. The secretary looks disappointed as she says "She's in her office."

I walk into the office where a woman who is around 65 sits. "May I help you?"

"Yeah, I'd like you to explain why my 6 year old daughter came home today crying because kids were bullying her!"

The principal shifts in her chair uncomfortably before saying "I'm sorry, Mr. Herondale but there isn't much we can do about that, since we don't have any proof of anyone doing that."

That's when I break. I lean forward and look the principal straight in the eye. "Look, I didn't bring her up so they cut her down. I didn't bring her here so they could shut her out. I live my whole damn life to see my little girl smile so why are tears pouring down her sweet face. She wasn't brought up that way" I say with a sterile calm in my voice before storming out of her office, slamming the door for good mesure.

* * *

_Nine years later…_

I look out the window and back down at my watch for the umpteenth time tonight. Finally I see a pair of headlights pull up our driveway, twenty minutes after curfew.

I see Emily run up to our house, not looking back at Andrew, her boyfriend of 3 months, and he quickly pulls out of our driveway and leaves.

She walks into our home and I say "You're late, Em."

Emily jumps and turns around. "By the Angel, daddy, you scared me!" She exclaims.

"How was the movie?" I ask her.

"It was pretty good" she responds, but I notice her eyes aren't shining like they normally are and she isn't being talkative.

"Emily, what's wrong?" I ask her, but she just ignores my question and puts her stuff away. "Emily, please answer me!" but she still doesn't face me. Finally I break and yell "Dammit, Emily Adele Herondale, look at me!"

She turns around to look at me and her eyes are brimmed with tears. Suddenly she runs forward into my arms, sobbing. "Shhh, it'll be alright" I say soothingly.

She cry for a little bit more then goes and sits on the couch and I sit down next to her. She looks me straight in the eyes and tells me what happened.

"I thought we were just going to the movie, Daddy, I really did. And we saw the movie. But after, when we went back to Andrew's car, he didn't start it up, he just told me that if I really liked him that I'd… I'd have sex with him. I wanted to stay with him, I wanted to be with him but as hard as he tried, there are some things I won't do, Daddy, I just couldn't do that to you"

"Baby, I didn't bring you up, so he or anyone could wear you down. So anyone could take your innocent heart and turn it inside out. I live my whole damn life to see my little girl smile, so don't let anybody take that smile away from you, you weren't brought up that way."

* * *

_4 years later…_

I'm sitting at home, on my couch, drinking my coffee, waiting for Emily to show up. It's Christmas Eve, a very rainy Christmas Eve, and she was supposed to be here 45 minutes ago,

Suddenly my phone rings. It's probably Emily saying she's running late because of traffic or demons or something. I pick up the phone and say "Hello?"

"Hello. Is this Jace Herondale?" a gruff voice says.

"Yes it is. Who is this speaking?" I said confusedly. Why would anyone be calling on Christmas Eve?

"It's Officer Tate" the man says. I groan inwardly. This will be the third time our neighbours have complained of excessive noise… this month. Not our fault that demons keep showing up on our doorstep.

"Sir, there's been an accident with your daughter. You better come down to the hospital right away."

My mind went into a paranoid state. No, I can't lose Em. She's all I have left. I force myself to take a breath. As I grab my coat and car keys, I ask the officer "What happened? How badly is she hurt?"

"A drunken driver missed an over pass and crashed into your daughter's car. And your daughter, well, I'm sorry. She's in a coma."

I quickly drive to the hospital and rush to the front desk.

"Excuse me" I say impatiently to the lady at the desk.

She looks up and immediately smoothes down her hair. "What can I help you with?" She asks flirtatiously.

This lady is really starting to piss me off. "I'm looking for Emily Herondale's room? She's my daughter."

"Just a moment please. Here it is! Room 147. Take a right, then another right and it's the third door on your left."

"Thank you" I say briskly.

"Oh, sir, wait!" the lady exclaims. "If you're ever free…" She hands me a slip of paper with a phone number on it.

Really?! "Thanks but my daughter is in a freaking coma!" I yell angrily and run away to find Em's room.

I get to her room and see her strung up to all these tubes and needles. I collapse in the chair next to her bed and grab her hand.

"Look, God, or angel Raziel, or whoevers up there, I just want to say that I didn't bring her up so I could watch them lay her down. Only you know it nearly killed me the day they put her momma in the ground."

* * *

_Flashback_

_18 years ago_

_"Clary, you just gave birth, for God's sake. Please, sit this one out" I ask Clary._

_She looks at me with her determined emerald green eyes and says "Jace, I gave birth 9 months ago. I'm fine."_

_Knowing that there's no way to fight her, I submit. "Whatever. Just be careful. I have a bad feeling about this one."_

_*************Flashback line break*************_

_We get to an old abandoned park where the supposed demons were. "Well it looks like no one's here. May as well go home" Isabelle says and we start to head home._

_"What, and leave me here? How rude of you."_

_I turn around to see Jonathan, standing merely 5 meters away. "Hello darling sister and friends."_

_"Jonathan" I growl. I take a step forward but a demon grabs me from fact every single one of us is grabbed from behind by demons except for Clary, who is grabbed by her brother himself. We are outnumbered and can't get out of the grips of the demons._

_"Please Jonathan, don't kill me or my family, I'm begging you." I hate the sound of Clary's begging, it makes me sick to my stomach._

_"Oh," Jonathan says, amused. "And why would I do that?" _

_"Because, Jonathan, I want to be able to raise my 9 month old daughter. I want to do a better job than our dad and be there for my kid" Clary says desperately._

_"I'm sorry, Clary. But you had your chance." And he plunges the knife into her torso. _

_I broke from the demons grasp and charged. And with one sweep of the knife, I killed Sebastian._

_I then collapsed right next to the love of my life and held her in my arms "Clary, please don't go, don't leave me here."_

_She looks up at me with her fading eyes and says "Jace, you need to live for me. I want you to go out meet someone new, move on with your life. And if you can't find the will to live for me, please, then live for your daughter. Take care of her Jace. Be the father you never had."_

_She closed her eyes and her heart stopped beating and I almost died with her._

_Almost._

* * *

I remember Clary's death so well and I'm haunted by it every night in my dreams. I would have been gone already, to be with Clary again, had it not been for Emily. My daughter, who looks so much like her mother with her curly, red hair, emerald eyes, and her beautiful smile.

"Please Angel Raziel, don't take the only thing I have left to live for away from me. It won't be easy for me if you take her away today, for I would have failed my love."

I stand up and look down at my daughter. She looks so fragile, so cracked that if I laid one finger on her, she would break. No rune can save her now, neither can any of Magnus's magic. Emily's future rests in the palms of fate's hands and there is nothing I can do about it. I am helpless and defeated.

And then she opened her eyes.

* * *

**I started this back in September but only finished now. Whoops! Hope you guys like this!**

**Anyways, I'll be updating 'Camp Shadowhunter' soon. I sort of had writers block but now I have an idea; I just have to put all my thoughts into a chapter now.**

**There's supposed to be a lot of snow tomorrow. Crossing my fingers for a snow day!**

**Please review this story and check out my other ones!**

**-Saysay586**


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